Egypt court bans virginity tests on female detainees

An Egyptian civilian court on Tuesday ordered the army to end mandatory virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons.The order came after a woman Samira Ibrahim, an alleged victim, raised a case against it.

Samira Ibrahim had reportedly said the army forced her and six other women to undergo virginity tests in March, following their arrests during a protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

"The court orders that the execution of the procedure of virginity tests on girls inside military prisons be stopped," said head of the Cairo Administrative Court Judge Aly Fekry, according to Reuters.

Aljazeera reports that hundreds of activists inside the courtroom cheered after the ruling were read out.

Sexual abuse

It appeared the court ruling was a victory for women thought to have been sexually abused under the guise of a virginity test , going by some reactions to the order.

“Samira Ibrahim did not undergo a ‘virginity test,’ she was the victim of sexual assault by Egypt’s military,” Aljaazeera quoted Nsoliman as saying in a post on Twitter.

According to the Associated Press, the military had earlier denied any knowledge of any virginity test, before a military prosecutor later said the army was looking into the issue.

The military rulers have come under mounting pressure from activists who criticise them for mismanaging the transition to civilian rule and violating the human rights of protesters, since they replaced ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.